On Friday 10 August 2012, 23 year old Meliz Redif will make history as the first Turkish Cypriot to compete in the Olympic Games, running in the women’s 4x400m relay for Turkey. She is the fastest 400m runner for her native Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the U23 national record holder for her adopted country of Turkey with a time of 52.89 seconds. Meliz is expected to carry the baton on the second or third leg for Turkey. She and her relay team mates Elif Yldrm, Sema Apak, and Birsen Engin have been dubbed the ‘fantastic four’ by…

Christian Motivs on Turkish Hereke Carpets? It seems to be surprisingly to find Christian Motifs on some of the carpet artworks handknotted in a Muslim country like Turkey, where 98 % of the population are Muslims. That could be an accomodation to the West tourists, to fulfill their expectations, but is that the only possible explanation, mainly because you will not find any Christian motif on a Persian carpet, for example? Going back in history for about 2, years, we find out another possible reason for the Christian motifs in Turkish silk carpets…

Guest Column: Turkish Delight The Feb. 15 issue of The Christian Science Monitor describes a situation which, to anyone familiar with American-Turkish relations in the post-World War II period, is almost beyond imagining: an American attack on Turkey. According to the Monitors story, The year is 2007. After a clash with Turkish forces in northern Iraq, U.S. troops stage a surprise attack. Reeling, Turkey turns to Russia and the European Union, who turn back the American onslaught. This is the plot of Metal Storm, one of the fastest-selling books…

Syrian citizen Sakra has confessed to Turkish police that he provided the attackers of September 11, accepted as the biggest terrorist attack of the history, with passports. Sakra, who has been interrogated in Istanbul Police Department Anti Terror Office for 4 days has made many interesting confessions. He noted that he knew Muhammad Ata, planner of the attacks on the WTI and Pentagon. Sakra claimed that he has organized terrorist activities for Jihad but he said that he drinks alcohol and does not pray. Remarkable anecdotes have emerged between…

Dear Colleagues and Friends, I will be teaching and tutoring languages. This is open to public and a great way to meet people. Please share this info with those who want to acquire one or more languages. Flexible schedule. Low low rates. Sign up now. LESSONS and TUTORIALS IN: FRENCH ARABIC SPANISH TURKISH RUSSIAN JAPANESE HUNGARIAN GERMAN and more All levels welcome. We will begin with the alphabet, reading, conversation and grammar and teach Standard Practical (functional) modern languages with consideration to dialectsArticles posted…

Mostly, Palestinians want their own piece of land. Much of the land they would call their own (i.e. they use it regularly) is legally state land for land formerly belonging to the Turkish Sultan. But they use it like commons lands. But they the government gets legalistic and siezes that land and sells it or allows others to build on it. There are also large land owners, and I knew many of their children and they are all nice peiple, but the ME definitely needs a land redistribution to the cultivators. I think now that Israel originally tried to…

From before 1967. For thousands of years Jerusalem had a Christian Quarter, an Arab Quarter and more recently, a Jewish Quarter and a Turkish one. In other words, Jerusalem had always had multi-religious rule throughout most of history. Key sites such as the sepulchre of Jesus are governed co-operatively. Saddam Nusseibeh, who is now president of Al Quds Univeristy (Harvard educated) has ancestors going back 1,200 years. Six hundred years ago, a Nusseibeh (Muslim) was given the key to the Church of the Sepulchre to prevent disputes between the…